Netflix plan for cable boxes threatened by Comcast/Time Warner merger

Supporting Netflix would "cannibalize their business."

Netflix's attempt to bring its video streaming service to Time Warner Cable set-top boxes "is on hold now that the cable operator is being sold," Bloomberg reported today, citing anonymous sources.

Comcast last week announced it has a deal to buy Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion. Netflix was in talks with several pay-TV providers to integrate the subscription video service with set-top boxes, the Wall Street Journalreported last October. Comcast and Time Warner Cable were among the companies that Netflix was negotiating with.

"The discussions are unlikely to progress before Time Warner Cable (TWC)’s $45.2 billion acquisition by Comcast Corp. is completed," Bloomberg's report said today. "Comcast, which isn’t as far along in its own talks with Netflix, is focused on increasing film downloads and rentals with its new X1 set-top box platform."

“They will not be in any kind of rush to let Netflix on their cable box and cannibalize their business,” industry analyst Arvind Bhatia told Bloomberg.

A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Ars.

Even without the merger, Netflix may never have succeeded in getting on Time Warner and Comcast cable boxes. The large amount of traffic Netflix streams to customers of the cable companies, which offer their own competing services, has been the source of various business disputes.

The Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger is expected to receive a thorough antitrust review by the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice.

Well if it ran over the non internet part of their network, I can see the advantage of having netflix on a STB. Otherwise, aside from them, everything else runs netflix these days.

Of course the issue isn't the last few runs of the network but more upstream, so unless it includes the in house server setup this won't solve anything.

I imagine that part of the negotiation is some sort of private-network access to the subscribers - either via the cableco's backbone or resolution of the ongoing spat over Netflix's CDN getting fast access to edge POP's close to the cableco's subscribers. Either way, odds are Netflix would be coughing up a percentage to the cableco.

And the Comcast CEO is saying this buyout won't be bad for consumers. This right there seems to be basically showing how consumers will have their choices negatively impacted.

Considering it is still available on my TV, Blu-Ray Player, Roku, Laptop, Phone, and Tablet, the impact is only minimal and honestly, I think it would have only made things worse.

We already, anecdotally, know that the Service Providers are traffic shaping Netflix, Google and other heavy traffic. It only seems logical that they would increase the throttling for Netflix traffic on devices besides their box because it now generates revenue.

Remember a business will fight over Opportunity Loss, but they will fight to the death over Revenue Loss...be careful what you wish for.

Major players are pulling out; (well Disney joined but where is Star Wars??!?!? "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" " Mulan" and "Lilo and Stitch" are fun to remissness..( don't judge!!) for a while, but.....) I have almost run out of things to watch on it. (Iron Man but not Iron Man 2???!? WTF?!?!?.... OMG!!!! "IRON MAN IS GONE TOO!!!!!??!??! >:( )

I may just drop it until HOC returns for the third season and buy it for that month... (FTR: Totally worth a watch!!)

I have: HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Redbox streaming, and Netflix and, as I have already said, I find Netflix lacking content one of the other's do not also offer...

Orange is the new black "looks" good (got 15 minutes into the first episode and really liked what I saw =) ) but was not enamored enough to finish it...

Give me a reason to stay Netflix...

Not their call: Comcast owns Universal while Time Warner owns Warner Bros, not to mention every single high value cable channel is owned by one or the other (like HBO) ... Time Warner & Comcast have both been pulling every show and movie off of Netflix as soon as Netflix's license for it is up.

Major players are pulling out; (well Disney joined but where is Star Wars??!?!? "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" " Mulan" and "Lilo and Stitch" are fun to remissness..( don't judge!!) for a while, but.....) I have almost run out of things to watch on it. (Iron Man but not Iron Man 2???!? WTF?!?!?.... OMG!!!! "IRON MAN IS GONE TOO!!!!!??!??! >:( )

I may just drop it until HOC returns for the third season and buy it for that month... (FTR: Totally worth a watch!!)

I have: HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Redbox streaming, and Netflix and, as I have already said, I find Netflix lacking content one of the other's do not also offer...

Orange is the new black "looks" good (got 15 minutes into the first episode and really liked what I saw =) ) but was not enamored enough to finish it...

Give me a reason to stay Netflix...

Not their call: Comcast owns Universal while Time Warner owns Warner Bros, not to mention every single high value cable channel is owned by one or the other (lime HBO) ... Time WArner & Comcast have both been pulling every show and movie off of Netflix as soon as Netflix's license for it is up.

Major players are pulling out; (well Disney joined but where is Star Wars??!?!? "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" " Mulan" and "Lilo and Stitch" are fun to remissness..( don't judge!!) for a while, but.....) I have almost run out of things to watch on it. (Iron Man but not Iron Man 2???!? WTF?!?!?.... OMG!!!! "IRON MAN IS GONE TOO!!!!!??!??! >:( )

I may just drop it until HOC returns for the third season and buy it for that month... (FTR: Totally worth a watch!!)

I have: HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Redbox streaming, and Netflix and, as I have already said, I find Netflix lacking content one of the other's do not also offer...

Orange is the new black "looks" good (got 15 minutes into the first episode and really liked what I saw =) ) but was not enamored enough to finish it...

Give me a reason to stay Netflix...

Not their call: Comcast owns Universal while Time Warner owns Warner Bros, not to mention every single high value cable channel is owned by one or the other (lime HBO) ... Time WArner & Comcast have both been pulling every show and movie off of Netflix as soon as Netflix's license for it is up.

You would think that Comcast and Time Warner would be required to license their IP at fair market rates since they're also in the content delivery business.

doesn't it only cost 35$ to get a Chromecast? It hasn't destroyed the cable market...

Not sure if you're being serious, but I'll reply seriously: Chromecast does not provide a good user experience. Starting a show or movie is fine, but there are usually problems (at least for me) controlling playback from another device. When the controlling device goes to sleep, it often has problems reconnecting. Dedicated remotes are the most reliable, but no one wants or needs another remote. Being on the cable box would be HUGE for Netflix.

And the Comcast CEO is saying this buyout won't be bad for consumers. This right there seems to be basically showing how consumers will have their choices negatively impacted.

Spot on. This merger is part of their overall plan to deal with cord cutting. Once a virtual monopoly is achieved, and net neutrality is dead, they can cut off Netflix and Hulu, and force people to pay whatever the want for their services. DirectTV may be a viable choice for TV, but not for internet service.

"The Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger is expected to receive a thorough antitrust review by the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice."

...sigh...end times are near

Don't worry the FCC chairman was formerly a cable/wireless lobbyist so I am super sure that there will be no conflict of interest in the review.

It seems to me that wireless is very different than cable, and it may be good for wireless to have more media options.

Also, FCC chairman isn't the Dictator of the FCC, that isn't how it is set up. The people doing review will be the same career professionals that are there the rest of the time. One thing is clear, the FCC is more on the side of network neutrality than the rest of government. And they don't approve every merger.

I predict this one will never happen, and their treatment of netflix will be one of the main reasons the media obsesses over, after which other operators will want to partner with netflix, and they'll have a resurgence.

Major players are pulling out; (well Disney joined but where is Star Wars??!?!? "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" " Mulan" and "Lilo and Stitch" are fun to reminisce..( don't judge!!) for a while, but.....) I have almost run out of things to watch on it. (Iron Man but not Iron Man 2???!? WTF?!?!?.... OMG!!!! "IRON MAN" IS GONE TOO!!!!!??!??! >:( )

I may just drop it until HOC returns for the third season and buy it for that month... (FTR: Totally worth a watch!!)

I have: HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Redbox streaming, and Netflix and, as I have already said, I find Netflix lacking content one of the other's do not also offer...

Orange is the new black "looks" good (got 15 minutes into the first episode and really liked what I saw =) ) but was not enamored enough to finish it...

Major players are pulling out; (well Disney joined but where is Star Wars??!?!? "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" " Mulan" and "Lilo and Stitch" are fun to remissness..( don't judge!!) for a while, but.....) I have almost run out of things to watch on it. (Iron Man but not Iron Man 2???!? WTF?!?!?.... OMG!!!! "IRON MAN IS GONE TOO!!!!!??!??! >:( )

I may just drop it until HOC returns for the third season and buy it for that month... (FTR: Totally worth a watch!!)

I have: HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Redbox streaming, and Netflix and, as I have already said, I find Netflix lacking content one of the other's do not also offer...

Orange is the new black "looks" good (got 15 minutes into the first episode and really liked what I saw =) ) but was not enamored enough to finish it...

Give me a reason to stay Netflix...

Not their call: Comcast owns Universal while Time Warner owns Warner Bros, not to mention every single high value cable channel is owned by one or the other (like HBO) ... Time Warner & Comcast have both been pulling every show and movie off of Netflix as soon as Netflix's license for it is up.

While Comcast does indeed own NBC Universal, Time Warner Cable hasn't had any ties to Time Warner (the content providers) in about five years, other than the name (currently used under license).

I always get annoyed when people mention that there's no point in having Netflix stream to set top boxes because there are so many other devices that already stream Netflix.

Yes, Netflix is on so many devices. It's built into my TV, my blu-ray player, and multiple game consoles...but the problem is that all of those devices are in the same location. Having multiple devices that play Netflix is rather useless when they're all in the same spot.

I have multiple other TVs in my house that I would love to stream Netflix on (kitchen, gym room, office) that do have cable set top boxes but don't have (and have no need for) blu-ray players or game consoles. Being able to simply stream Netflix through the boxes instead of having to buy more devices would be hugely beneficial and I guarantee there are many, many people in similar situations.

TWC/Comcast should offer a Netflix-like service of their own (why not? It's a natural business progression for them) and we will have a viable competition to Netflix. I don't like seeing Netflix running away as a dominant content provider. It's not good for consumers and I'm sure Hollywood studios don't like it either.

TWC/Comcast should offer a Netflix-like service of their own (why not? It's a natural business progression for them) and we will have a viable competition to Netflix. I don't like seeing Netflix running away as a dominant content provider. It's not good for consumers and I'm sure Hollywood studios don't like it either.

Netflix has plenty of competition. Amazon, Hulu, Youtube and The Pirate Bay all directly compete with Netflix.

In the dawn if the airline age, there was a company, united aircraft and airlines which manufactured content (aircraft, engines) and controlled distribution (air flights), the DOJ saw this dual ownership as anti competitive and broke up that conglomeration (into, roughly, Boeing, United Airlines, and United Technologies.)

DOJ also saw Henry Ford's manufacture of cars and trucks, airplanes, ships and ownership of a rail line as overconcentrated and pursueded him to focus on cars and trucks before he went too far into the other transport sectors.

Three generations later, AT&T's integrated research, manufacturing, distribution and operations were seen as anti-competitive and were broken-up. One of the key aspects of the breakup was, in the interests of competition and value to the customer, was to allow companies other than ATT to use ATT's copper phone line distribution network.

A generation after ATT, ever more electric customers can purchase their electricity from a firm different than the one owning the lines and local distribution network.

A generation and a half after ATT, or nearly a century after United Aircraft and Ford, for most customers, there is only one real cable company (forget ADSL) service available to them in their homes. How is this concentration of distribution different from ATT (and United Aircraft before that)?

Why is DOJ being asked to approve a power concentrating mega-merger, as opposed to pushing the cable firms to separate content and distribution?

Given that the telephone fixed net is slowly headed for oblivion, it seems likely that DSL service (as a counterweight) is similarly threatened; this will bring further concentration and dependence on the last data distribution channel standing (and whoever controls it.)

The time is now to stop hoping for net-neutrality, and to start speaking of breaking up big cable, separating content and distribution, and treating the physical cable distribution network, just like the copper phone distribution network was, before it becomes bigger and more integrated and even more anti-competitive than it already is.

Actually, rumor had it that Apple was in active negotiation to provide setup boxes for TWC.

It isn't just cable providers. It's content providers too. You want channel "A"? You need to also have all of you subscribers pay for these other dozen channels too. It's why we have 250 channels with 230 being stations that no one watches, yet are all part of the basic cable tier.

When it comes to cable service, there's enough blame to go all around.

I don't have cable. I pay $60 for Internet service, $9.00 for Netflix, and $6.50 for phone.

For another $10 per month, I could get the Triple Play from my cable company. I'll simple change to another high speed ISP. Wait, there isn't one. That's the real issue.

And the Comcast CEO is saying this buyout won't be bad for consumers. This right there seems to be basically showing how consumers will have their choices negatively impacted.

Spot on. This merger is part of their overall plan to deal with cord cutting. Once a virtual monopoly is achieved, and net neutrality is dead, they can cut off Netflix and Hulu, and force people to pay whatever the want for their services. DirectTV may be a viable choice for TV, but not for internet service.

This merger should not be allowed to happen.

This is certainly Comcast's dream and is a huge reason for this merger to not go through.

But I'd just add that Comcast has a basic conflict of interest. Comcast owns a film studio (Universal) and Comcast wants to push viewers to pay top dollar to see these movies such as through pay per view.

Actually, rumor had it that Apple was in active negotiation to provide setup boxes for TWC.

It isn't just cable providers. It's content providers too. You want channel "A"? You need to also have all of you subscribers pay for these other dozen channels too. It's why we have 250 channels with 230 being stations that no one watches, yet are all part of the basic cable tier.

I bet if you charted Netflix numbers, you would find the same curve. The extended tail of content with only marginal viewership.

I may be (probably am) wrong, but if Comcast and TWC are in the content provision business as well as (dumb pipe) Internet services, doesn't that place them squarely in the "common carrier" category, and therefore under the rule of the FCC?

How much would Netflix cost to buy? I really can't see it being more than the $4.5 x 10^10.

It says a lot that Comcast's preference is to buy up more ISP customers than the product those customers actually desire. Especially if they think your personal product is better, in spite of what those customers are seemingly saying.

To a limited extent, I suspect the merger might help regarding Netflix and the proposed Apple TV deal. I can see the FCC mandating that these deals go through in order to approve the merger (in the thought that they would be more open with these deals in place).

Of course, it's not that simple - I don't believe the FCC can mandate deals with all the content providers, but I can see something like that happening. Whether it would be worth it is another question, of course.

Major players are pulling out; (well Disney joined but where is Star Wars??!?!? "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" " Mulan" and "Lilo and Stitch" are fun to remissness..( don't judge!!) for a while, but.....) I have almost run out of things to watch on it. (Iron Man but not Iron Man 2???!? WTF?!?!?.... OMG!!!! "IRON MAN IS GONE TOO!!!!!??!??! >:( )

I may just drop it until HOC returns for the third season and buy it for that month... (FTR: Totally worth a watch!!)

I have: HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Redbox streaming, and Netflix and, as I have already said, I find Netflix lacking content one of the other's do not also offer...

Orange is the new black "looks" good (got 15 minutes into the first episode and really liked what I saw =) ) but was not enamored enough to finish it...

Give me a reason to stay Netflix...

Not their call: Comcast owns Universal while Time Warner owns Warner Bros, not to mention every single high value cable channel is owned by one or the other (like HBO) ... Time Warner & Comcast have both been pulling every show and movie off of Netflix as soon as Netflix's license for it is up.

No. Time Warner Cable was spun off from Time Warner with Time Warner keeping Warner Bros.

This case clearly highlights the problem with infrastructure providers also being in the content providing business. The conflict of interests is sure to prevent any kind of fair market competition. Net neutrality would help a little bit with it, but now that they managed to shoot that down, there are dark days ahead.

The DoJ should step up and either block this merger, or stipulate that in order to merge, they need to spin off the content provider side into a separate corporation, with no affiliation with the infrastructure provider, where it will have to compete on equal grounds with the likes of Netflix, etc.

As someone who has already cut the cord a while ago and has no plans to subscribe to cable again, I am now worried about recent developments in this sector. With the death of net neutrality, the throttling of content delivery services, and now this merger that threatens fair market competition, things aren't looking good for anyone else except the infrastructure providers who are holding all the cards now!